Ruffy Ramirez has eyed opening a Los Tres Amigos restaurant in Livonia for some time now. Soon, he hopes that will become a reality.

"We want to be in Livonia," the owner of the restaurant chain said. "We can tell that we have a lot of potential. We've done this for so many years."

And as long as he can prep the space and get the proper approvals, the Lansing restaurant owner will get his wish: earlier this fall, he bought into the former Outback Steakhouse restaurant in the Mid 5 shopping center on the southwest corner of Five Mile and Middlebelt in Livonia. He plans to turn it into the area's next Los Tres Amigos.

Crews are working to make renovations in the former restaurant, which closed and relocated a few years ago to a new building on Middlebelt south of Schoolcraft. Ramirez said he plans to renovate the entire interior, including the kitchen, to have it match other Los Tres Amigos restaurants in terms of style and decor. Many of the pieces will be familiar to patrons at other Los Tres Amigos restaurants, Ramirez said, and will have an Aztec theme.

The exterior of the building will also see work, Ramirez said, with the light-blue awning being removed in favor of brick and other materials. Customers will not be able to recognize the restaurant as a former Outback Steakhouse once renovations are complete, Ramirez said.

"It's not going to look like it did (before)," he said.

He said after getting proper approvals, he hopes to open the restaurant in late winter or early spring.

Los Tres Amigos has 13 locations across Michigan, including locations in Farmington, Plymouth and Canton, as well as location in central Michigan near Lansing and Jackson. The restaurant is known for its authentic Mexican food, including tacos, burritos, chalupas and carnitas.